Faith: What It Is and What It Leads To

By Charles H. Spurgeon

I think I may say that, while faith is the simplest thing in all the world, yet it is one of the most difficult upon which to write; because from its very importance, our soul begins to tremble while speaking of it, and then we are not able to describe it so clearly as we would.
I intend, by God’s help, to put together sundry thought upon faith, each of which I may have spoken at different times, but which have not been collected before, and which, I have no doubt, have been misunderstood from the want of their having been put together in their proper consecutive order. I shall say a little on each of these points:
1—The object of faith; or, to what it looks.
2—The reason of faith; or, why doth any man believe, and whence doth his faith come?
3—The ground of the sinner’s faith; or, on what ground he dares to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
4—The warrant of faith; or, why it dares to trust in Christ.
5—The result of faith; or, how it speeds when it comes to Christ.
6—The satisfactory declaration made in Scripture concerning those who have faith.
7—Misapprehensions respecting faith, by reason of which Christians are often cast down.
8—What this faith includes.
9—What this faith excludes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FV Éditions
• Release date: Sep 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9791029907685

Charles H. Spurgeon

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), nació en Inglaterra, y fue un predicador bautista que se mantuvo muy influyente entre cristianos de diferentes denominaciones, los cuales todavía lo conocen como «El príncipe de los predicadores». El predicó su primer sermón en 1851 a los dieciséis años y paso a ser pastor de la iglesia en Waterbeach en 1852. Publicó más de 1.900 sermones y predicó a 10.000,000 de personas durante su vida. Además, Spurgeon fue autor prolífico de una variedad de obras, incluyendo una autobiografía, un comentario bíblico, libros acerca de la oración, un devocional, una revista, poesía, himnos y más. Muchos de sus sermones fueron escritos mientras él los predicaba y luego fueron traducidos a varios idiomas. Sin duda, ningún otro autor, cristiano o de otra clase, tiene más material impreso que C.H. Spurgeon.

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Introduction

He that believeth on him is not condemned.—John 3:18

The way of salvation is stated in Scripture in the very plainest terms, and yet, perhaps, there is no truth about which more errors have been uttered, than concerning the faith which saves the soul. Well has it been proved by experience, that all doctrines of Christ are mysterious—mysterious, not so much in themselves, but because they are hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded their eyes. So plain is Scripture, that one would have said, He that runs may read; but so dim is man’s eye, and so marred is his understanding, that the very simplest truth of Scripture he distorts and misrepresents. And indeed, my brethren, even those who know what faith is, personally and experimentally, do not always find it easy to give a good definition of it. They think they have hit the mark, and then, afterwards, they lament that they have failed. Straining themselves to describe some one part of faith, they find they have forgotten another, and in the excess of their earnestness to clear the poor sinner out of one mistake, they often lead him into a worse error. So that I think I may say that, while faith is the simplest thing in all the world, yet it is one of the most difficult upon which to write; because from its very importance, our soul begins to tremble while speaking of it, and then we are not able to describe it so clearly as we would.

I intend, by God’s help, to put together sundry thought upon faith, each of which I may have spoken at different times, but which have not been collected before, and which, I have no doubt, have been misunderstood from the want of their having been put together in their proper consecutive order. I shall say a little on each of these points:

1—The object of faith; or, to what it looks.

2—The reason of faith; or, why doth any man believe, and whence doth his faith come?

3—The ground of the sinner’s faith; or, on what ground he dares to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

4—The warrant of faith; or, why it dares to trust in Christ.

5—The result of faith; or, how it speeds when it comes to Christ.

6—The satisfactory declaration made in Scripture concerning those who have faith.

7—Misapprehensions respecting faith, by reason of which Christians are often cast down.

8—What this faith includes.

9—What this faith excludes.

1

The object of faith; or, to what faith looks

I am told in the Word of God to believe—What am I to believe? I am bidden to look—to what am I to look? What is to be the object of my hope, belief, and confidence?—The reply is simple. The object of Faith to a sinner is Christ Jesus. How many make a mistake about this and think that they are to believe on God the Father! Now, belief in God is an after result of faith in Jesus. We come to believe in the eternal love of the Father as the result of trusting the precious blood of the Son.

Many men say, I would believe in Christ if I knew that I were elect. This is coming to the Father, and no man can come to the Father except by Christ. It is the Father’s work to elect; you cannot come directly to him, therefore you cannot know your election until first you have believed on Christ the Redeemer, and then through redemption you can approach to the Father, and know your election.

Some, too, make the mistake of looking to the work of God the Holy Spirit. They look: within to see if they have certain feelings, and if they find them, their faith is strong; but if their feelings have departed from them, then their faith is weak, so that they look to the work of the Spirit, which is not the object of a Sinner’s faith. Both the Father and the Spirit must be trusted, in order to complete redemption, but for the particular mercy of justification and pardon the blood of the Mediator is the only plea. Christians have to trust the Spirit after conversion, but the sinner’s business, if he would be saved, is